DigitalOcean's approach to sales shifted away from traditional methods, focusing instead on leveraging data-driven sales triggers to engage its developer-focused audience effectively. Despite initially thriving without a sales team, the company eventually hired one as it prepared for an IPO. Emmanuelle Skala, VP of Sales, opted against building a traditional outbound sales team and instead targeted the community of millions using identified sales triggers. By analyzing data, both internal and external teams identified potential growth indicators, such as usage spikes, that signaled a company's intent to further engage with DigitalOcean. The strategy involved syncing these triggers with the CRM to send relevant, timely content to developers, aligning outreach with their interests and activities rather than using mass emails or direct sales calls, which developers tend to avoid. This personalized approach led to a 15-30 percent increase in product usage among those who received triggered messages. The initiative highlights how understanding customer behavior and preferences can yield significant results, as it provided valuable information to the community while boosting revenue.